


The Chosen Option

by DrayOakenshield, DrayPotter_TFLS (DrayOakenshield)



Series: Choices and Consequences [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Forced Marriage, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25697131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrayOakenshield/pseuds/DrayOakenshield, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrayOakenshield/pseuds/DrayPotter_TFLS
Summary: After being thrust into a complete mess of a forced marriage by the latest anti-muggle-born law the Ministry had passed Hermione and Draco make the best of the situation with the help of their friends.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: Choices and Consequences [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863541
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

Harry stepped through the floo and glanced around the flat trying to figure out where Hermione was before he heard the music from the kitchen, Mariah Carey by the sounds of it which meant something was bothering her. Hermione only listened to muggle pop when something was wrong. Stepping into the kitchen Harry leaned against the counter and watched Hermione finish making dinner at the stove, after a moment he coughed slightly to get her attention.

Reacting on instinct Hermione pulled her wand out of the bun at the nape of her neck and spun to face the intruder, only lowering it when she realized it was Harry standing behind her, “Merlin Harry, you are going to get yourself hexed doing that one of these days!” Hermione exclaimed, lowering her wand in favor of swatting Harry on the arm.

“It's not my fault you didn’t hear me come through the floo.” Harry laughed as he rubbed at his now sore arm. “So what’s bothering you? You don’t normally get off in your head like that unless something is really wrong, add in the muggle music and I don’t think I’ve seen you that worked up since the trials after the war.”   


The smile fell off Hermione’s face as Harry’s words brought back her conversation with Draco earlier that day. “Oh Harry, I’ve gotten myself in a mess this time. Promise me you won't hate me when I tell you what I’ve done this time?”

Harry rolled his eyes and pulled Hermione into a hug before she could work herself up any more than she already was. “First I could never hate you; I’m not Ron I don’t hold mistakes against people. And second, you are sounding like Ginny with all the melodrama, so take a second and breathe then start at the beginning.”

Relaxing into the hug, Hermione did as Harry said and took a deep breath before stepping back. “Well, you already kind of know the beginning, that I slept with someone at the summer solstice celebration you and Blaise dragged me to.”

“You were very willing to be dragged to that celebration and you know it,” Harry pointed out with a smirk as he turned to the fridge and fished out one of his favorite ales he knew Hermione always kept on hand for their Wednesday dinners. “Want one?”

Hermione shook her head as she turned back to the oven and pulled out the chicken that had been in the stove for an hour now. “None for me thanks, and my willingness aside you got me in quite a mess by dragging me there.”

“I knew you would make this my fault somehow.” Harry chuckled as he took a seat at the small table in the corner where they always ate.

Setting the roast bird on the table Hermione reached over and grabbed the mashed potatoes and gravy off the counter. “Yes well that is where your part in this ends, the person I slept with was as pissed as I was and apparently we forgot to use any sort of contraceptive charm.”

Harry nearly sliced his hand instead of the chicken he was carving when the knife in his hand slipped in surprise. “‘Mione are you telling me that you’re pregnant?”

“By none other than Draco Malfoy at that,” Hermione said dryly, deciding to get the worst of the shocks over all at once.

The knife in Harry’s hand clattered to the serving dish as Harry’s head thunked into the table. “Did you spike my drink with something? Because I have to be hallucinating right now.”

Hermione couldn’t stop the giggle that slipped past her lips as she reached across the table and patted Harry’s head. “No I didn’t drug you, and no this isn’t a prank the Weasley twins roped me into. I really am pregnant, it really is Draco’s, and I really am planning on marrying him within the next week thanks to the ministry's newest mess of a law.”

The silence from Harry’s side of the table at the newest tidbit of information Hermione had slipped into her mini tirade was so deafening that Hermione briefly thought Harry had actually passed out from shock. 

After a few more worrying beats of silence Harry finally looked up at Hermione, “well I don’t hate you. If anything I rather admire how much you’ve thrown yourself into making a disaster, this rivals our fourth year in terms of how hilariously bad it is.”

Hermione relaxed when Harry finally spoke up, even if it was to make a joke at her expense. “Yes, well, being friends with you for over a decade had to have rubbed off on me somewhat.”

“So you’re marrying someone we loathed in school because of the Ministry’s latest bungle? And you are alright with this? It’s not something he’s forcing you into?” Harry asked, his tone more serious than it had been moments before.

Scooping some potatoes onto her plate, Hermione took a moment to seriously consider everything that had happened that day to make sure she was actually alright with it. Finally, she nodded. “It is far from how I pictured life going, but can either of us really say anything has gone as planned since we got our Hogwarts letters twelve years ago?”

Harry grinned wryly at the truth of that statement, Hermione had a very good point there. It seemed like from the moment they had stepped foot on the Hogwarts Express for the first time things had always found a way to go awry. This was just going to be another of those things they would have to roll with and figure out as they went.

~~

While Harry and Hermione were discussing the events of the day at Hermione’s flat, Blaise was in the flat he shared with Harry getting ready for his weekly poker game that it was his turn to host. Just as he set the bowl of crisps on the table the floo flared to life and Draco stepped into the room carrying what looked like a bottle of firewhisky. 

“You’re early,” Blaise pointed out as he turned back to setting up the table. “I’m guessing it’s not because you wanted to help me set up?”

“Nope, I’m here to get a celebratory shot in before everyone else shows up.” Draco replied, holding up the bottle before summoning a pair of glasses from the bar cabinet in the corner.

Blaise accepted the glass Draco held out to him and took a healthy swig, not needing any more of an excuse to drink.

“To me getting Hermione Granger pregnant and her agreeing to marry me!” Draco said as he held his own glass up in a toast before taking a swig himself.

This was so far from what Blaise was expecting the toast to be for that the mouthful of firewhisky he had just taken came out his nose instead of going down his throat when he tried to swallow. After sputtering and coughing for close to five minutes Blaise finally choked out the word what, trying to make sure he had actually heard correctly.

Draco sipped his drink and waited until he was sure Blaise wasn’t actually dying from choking before speaking again. “Remember how I told you I ended up sleeping with a witch at that summer solstice event you told me about? Well, that witch was none other than Hermione Granger and by some cruel twist of fate we were both drunk enough to forget any sort of contraception.”

“You’re an arse for telling me like that.” Blaise groused as he wiped at his nose with his handkerchief before taking another tentative sip of his firewhiskey. “So because of that law we couldn’t stop you are marrying her? Why not just adopt the child?”

Pouring another shot Draco considered how he was going to explain to Blaise that he was actually more than just alright with marrying the witch he had once hated. The truth of the matter was he hadn’t actually disliked Hermione since that day in the manor near the end of the war. Watching Hermione be tortured by his crazy aunt and not break had made him look at her in a new light and he had been forced to admit that he had been wrong about Hermione. That realization hadn’t sat well with him but it had made him reconsider a lot of the things his father had taught him, in the five years since the war his entire world view had been turned on its head. 

Blaise watched Draco get lost in his head with a wry smile, this had become a common occurrence since the war had forced them both to grow up and reconsider everything they had learned in Slytherin. “You want to marry Hermione don’t you?” Blaise finally asked, breaking Draco out of his thoughts. “It’s alright to admit it, she’s a fine young woman and she would be a brilliant match for you intelligence wise.”

“I do want to marry her, though I wish I had gotten a chance to know her before this mess happened.” Draco admitted, pushing thoughts of the war into the back corner of his mind. 

“Well think of it this way, it’s basically an arranged marriage at this point so you will have plenty of time to build a relationship just like purebloods have been doing for centuries. And plenty of those couples have actually formed loving relationships, they weren’t all like your parents.” Blaise offered reassuringly, grabbing the bottle to pour them one last shot before everyone else showed up for poker night. “Now come on, I still need to finish setting up before everyone else gets here.”

Draco downed the refilled shot before heading into the kitchen to find the snacks that he was sure were waiting to be brought out. “Oh, and I need you to use your connections in the Department of Records to fudge this so it looks like we got married at the solstice and the Ministry is forcing it to come to light.”

“Good thing Zacharis is coming tonight then, I’ll let him win a couple of hands then ask him if he can help.” Blaise shouted back as Draco disappeared around the corner laughing. Even though it was a complete mess of a situation Blaise was one hundred percent certain this was going to work out alright in the end, he had meant it when he said he thought they were a good match once they moved past their childhood rivalries.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting ready for the big event provides a few more surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm publishing 2/3 of this story at once so if you are here and you haven't read chapter one go read that first!

Hermione had just gotten out of the shower when there was an unexpected tap at the window; quickly tugging on a robe she pulled open the window to let not one but three owls in, two of whom were working together to carry a rather large box. After the parcels were dropped on her dressing table the owls took off again before she could even offer them water or a treat. After watching them leave and shutting the window behind them Hermione took a seat at her dressing table and reached for the smaller of the two parcels first as it had a letter attached to it that would hopefully explain who sent the owls.

_ Hermione, _

_ I know this likely isn’t the wedding you dreamed of and I wish I could do more than this to make it better. In the smaller box you will find something old, something borrowed, and something blue; the large box contains your something new. I will see you at sunset in the Manor Garden as we agreed. _

_ Yours, _

_ Draco _

Wiping at her eyes, Hermione tried to convince herself not to start crying before the day even began. Lifting the lid off of the small box Hermione found it full of even more small boxes, each with a small parchment tag stuck to it. As she reached for the first box Hermione heard her floo flare to life followed by Harry calling her name.

“In the bedroom!” She replied as she lifted a box slightly bigger than a ring box and read the tag declaring it was her something old, a Malfoy family heirloom ruby necklace and matching earrings that were hers to keep even after the wedding.

“Morning ‘Mione, ready for your big day?” Harry asked as he appeared in the door.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the nickname she’d long given up on convincing Harry not to use then gestured at the boxes on the dressing table. “Draco decided to make sure I had everything I could possibly need according to muggle tradition. I was just opening them to look at everything.”

Crossing the room Harry stood behind Hermione and peered over her shoulder into the box in front of her. “So that's why he owled on Thursday asking about muggle weddings, I figured he was going to try and do something like this. What did he send you?”

“So far I’ve only opened the something old, which turned out to be a ruby necklace.” Hermione said, holding out the box so Harry could see it. 

Harry took the offered box and whistled, “I’m surprised he didn’t go with emerald for Slytherin.” He joked as Hermione opened the next box.

“Something borrowed, a hair comb from Narcissa’s personal jewelry collection,” Hermione said as she opened a box containing a delicate ruby and gold comb that matched the necklace she had opened first and set it on the dressing table next to the big box. “I’m guessing these are my shoes and something blue, Hermione said as she lifted the last box out and read the tag, Giggling she held the note out to Harry, “you explained the tradition but not what a sixpence is?”

Grinning sheepishly Harry shrugged, “Blaise was there too! He could have explained it too!”

Hermione just shook her head and lifted the lid off the box of shoes to reveal a pair of dainty blue flats that she would happily wear any day, not just for her wedding. “I never would have thought Draco paid enough attention to know me this well but apparently he does. I don’t even think you could tell me what kind of shoes I prefer to wear.”

“I could tell you that you wear shoes, that's about it.” Harry agreed with a laugh that was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Ah right on time, I’ll go get that.”

“Harry, who did you invite to my house?!” Hermione yelped as she followed him out to the sitting room, “I’m not even dressed yet!”

Grinning at Hermione Harry pulled open the door and ushered in two ladies, each rolling a rather large case behind them. “Tilda, May, this is your client today, Hermione. Hermione, this is May and Tilda. I hired them to do your hair and make up for tonight.”

“Hullo, Hermione! I’m Tilda, I’ll be doing your makeup and my partner May does gorgeous hair.” The short brunette in front said as she held out her hand.

Hermione shook the offered hand feeling slightly flabbergasted that Harry had done this for her. “Nice to meet you, Tilda, I hope you don’t mind that I have no idea what I want to be done. Blimey, I haven’t even seen my dress yet!”

The blonde in the back who could only be May smiled at Hermione in understanding, “Harry told us about the rather unusual circumstances when he asked us to sign an agreement to keep the details quiet about exactly when this happened.” May said as she also offered her hand to Hermione.

“Oh then that makes this a bit easier,” Hermione said, relaxing slightly at having one less thing to worry about, “And my soon to be husband just sent me what I think is supposed to be my wedding dress and jewelry to wear with it, would you be able to do something simple with a ruby hair comb by any chance?”

May reached forward and ran a hand through Hermione’s still damp hair as she thought for a second then smiled, “what if I just pinned the sides and tamed your curls a bit so they fell softly down your back? Elegant but without looking too done up.”

“That gives me an idea,” Tilda interjected excitedly, “if we are doing simple elegance I could do a soft gold on your eyes and a bright red on your lips. Not a lot of makeup but enough to brighten you up a bit.”

Breathing a small sigh of relief that they weren’t going to make her look like an overly done up clown Hermione relaxed even more. “That all sounds perfect! Would you like to set up in the bedroom? Everything else is already in there, and it has huge windows so the lighting is amazing.”

“And you can finally look at the dress Draco sent, I figure that’s what is in the big box.” Harry piped up from where he stood forgotten by the front door.

Tilda nodded in agreement and gestured for Hermione to lead the way to the room in question, pulling her wand out of her pocket and waving it at her case so it would follow her. 

“While you ladies get ready, how about I throw together some cheese toasties for lunch?” Harry offered, not exactly wanting to get dragged into getting ready with them. 

Hermione shouted her agreement and thanks over her shoulder as she led the others into her bedroom. Grabbing her wand off her dressing table she flicked it at her bed to make it smaller so she could tuck it out of the way, despite having great lighting the room wasn’t very large and having three people in it at once plus the queen sized bed would make it very crowded indeed.

“This is gorgeous!” May exclaimed as she peered into the box holding the hair comb that Hermione had left open on the dressing table. “It will look amazing in your hair, the gold will just shine against your chestnut curls.”

While May was gushing over the jewelry Hermione would be wearing, Tilda was directing her case to unpack all the brushes and makeup she would need. “Can we take a look at your dress? I want to make sure the look we are planning will actually all come together. It would be unfortunate if we did all this work and it somehow clashed with the dress.”

Hermione was already reaching for the box on the table before Tilda spoke, her curiosity getting unmanageable. When she first lifted the box Hermione felt a wave of disappointment as she saw an almost delicate lace that was nothing like what she had pictured for her wedding dress, but knowing she needed to see the full dress before she made a snap judgement on it Hermione lifted it out by the satin wrapped hanger that was laying in the box. As the dress unfolded out of the box Hermione gasped, it wasn’t head to toe lace after all. The bodice was a delicate floral lace that looked like it would hug her in all the right places and hang delicately off her shoulders, then there was a gold belt that was slightly thicker than her wrist that separated the lace from a flowing silk chiffon skirt that flared just slightly into an a-line skirt. As she studied the dress she noticed more delicate details that made her fall even more in love with it, like the thin gold cuffs at the end of the sleeves and the low vee in the back that dropped into dainty buttons. If it was in any other color Hermione could have worn it to any of the numerous Ministry functions she had been dragged to since her rise to heroine status five years previously, which just proved how much attention Draco had paid to her over the years.

“Oh my goodness,” May breathed as she saw the dress Hermione had lifted out of the box. “Your young man has exquisite taste! That is going to look absolutely stunning on you, simple elegance was definitely a good choice to go along with that dress.”

Tilda was staring at the dress awestruck, already mentally adjusting her plans for Hermione’s hair to make sure it showed off the gorgeous neckline and open back. “Harry mentioned it was going to be a sunset wedding? Then we better get moving, it’s nearly one already so we should get started. You are going to look like a princess when we are done with you!”


End file.
